Tuesday, April 24, 2007

NO HOLDS BARRED: WhiteWatch

On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman introduces a new commentary series which will appear from time to time on this show. It is called WhiteWatch, and it examines some of the public utterances of the former boxercise instructor-turned-UFC president, Dana White.

We examine the tone he has set in the UFC regarding issues of race, class, and nationality; some of his critiques of boxing while emulating W"W"E; his comparison of the overall skills of UFC fighters with top pro boxers; and his writing off pro boxing as a dying if not dead sport.

We do also expect to post some interviews with athletes on NO HOLDS BARRED later this week.

To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click here or here or here and just press the play button on the player. (Please note that if one of these sites has a technical problem, please use another one.) You can also listen to it through this blog and my MySpace page, also by pressing the play button on the player. (And if the player does not display the latest episode, please go directly here or here or here.)

The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.

NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

IFL, the International Fight League, the world's first professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. You can also catch the IFL's newest show, "IFL Battleground", every Monday on MyNetworkTV from 8-10 PM. An encore presentation will run each Saturday night from 8-10 PM. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Links to this post:

Once again, I appreciate your role as the "conscience of combat sports". But I urge you to diversify your critcisms rather than targeting the UFC in what appears to be a personal vendetta.

Your sponsor, the IFL, is guilty of plenty of antisocial behavior. The blogger linked below draws attention to this buffoonish exchange between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye which is not only "pro-wrestling" in style, but is also homophobic and offensive.

While I commend you for your attention to racism, I think the combat sports are more susceptible to other oppressive constructs - those that pertain to masculinity, namely sexism and homophobia.

Please broaden your critique of the combat sports to include sexual exploitation of ring girls, and even female athletes (as Elite XC did in their initial broadcast), and homophobic trash talk. No one covers these issues, but they are important. They make our sport unwelcoming to women, children, homosexuals, and families.

I, for one, am ashamed to introduce my friends to MMA as a legitimate sport, because I know my claims will be discredibed by the incessant sexual exploitation that goes on.

To sum up:

1. Keep up the good work of bringing social ethics into the discussion of combat sports

2. Do not get stuck on the UFC and Dana White (I'm not asking you to give them a free pass, not at all)

3. Be more critical of the IFL. Your credibility is on the line because of your sponsorship by them. If anything, you should be MORE critical of IFL than other organizations, if purely to protect your journalistic reputation

4. In addition to racism, bring up the topics of sexual exploitation, sexism and homophobia in the combat sports

1 Comments:

Mr. Goldman,

Once again, I appreciate your role as the "conscience of combat sports". But I urge you to diversify your critcisms rather than targeting the UFC in what appears to be a personal vendetta.

Your sponsor, the IFL, is guilty of plenty of antisocial behavior. The blogger linked below draws attention to this buffoonish exchange between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye which is not only "pro-wrestling" in style, but is also homophobic and offensive.

While I commend you for your attention to racism, I think the combat sports are more susceptible to other oppressive constructs - those that pertain to masculinity, namely sexism and homophobia.

Please broaden your critique of the combat sports to include sexual exploitation of ring girls, and even female athletes (as Elite XC did in their initial broadcast), and homophobic trash talk. No one covers these issues, but they are important. They make our sport unwelcoming to women, children, homosexuals, and families.

I, for one, am ashamed to introduce my friends to MMA as a legitimate sport, because I know my claims will be discredibed by the incessant sexual exploitation that goes on.

To sum up:

1. Keep up the good work of bringing social ethics into the discussion of combat sports

2. Do not get stuck on the UFC and Dana White (I'm not asking you to give them a free pass, not at all)

3. Be more critical of the IFL. Your credibility is on the line because of your sponsorship by them. If anything, you should be MORE critical of IFL than other organizations, if purely to protect your journalistic reputation

4. In addition to racism, bring up the topics of sexual exploitation, sexism and homophobia in the combat sports